Preview – Project Cheapbore $600 Home-Defense Shotgun

The Great Recession Shooting Holes in Your Wallet? Then Follow Along as We Build a $600 Home-Defense Shotgun.

We’ve heard your concerns, and we feel ya. The economy is kicking all of us in the naughty bits. While it’s great fun to read about guns that cost as much as a Yaris, most firearm enthusiasts can’t afford all those shiny new toys. How can you protect yourself and your loved ones if it means choosing between a home-defense weapon and your next mortgage payment?

That question is not hyperbole, but rather the truth for many folks today. So, in this issue of RECOIL, we introduce more modestly priced firearms. Say hello to Project Cheapbore, RECOIL’s home-defense shotgun budget build. Follow along as we show you a relatively inexpensive way to give a used smoothbore a tactical facelift — and all for about the cost of a new iPad.

Build Parameters We could have easily purchased a brand-new tactical shotgun with all the fixings (mounted light, extended magazine, etc.), but it would have cost us about a grand. No. We wanted to build a scattergun to our specifications that could defend the hearth without breaking the bank. So, we took the Goodwill route: find a used model and fix it up.

We established parameters to stay within our budget. Here were the five requisites for our Project Cheapbore.

>> Maneuverability: Wielding a 48-inch long-gun through tight hallways is like accidentally sexting the wrong person: awkward as hell. Therefore, Project Cheapbore would need a shorter barrel, but not so short that it’d incur the $200 tax of the National Firearms Act. Sorry, no sawed-offs. Maneuverability also means agility without fear of dropping our weapon, so a sling was in order, as well.

>> Capacity: When it comes to ammo, we like to paraphrase an old adage: It’s better to have more and not need it, then need more and not have it. Project Cheapbore would need to hold more than the typical four-shell capacity.

>> Visibility: We’d need a light. No ifs, ands, or buts. Whether power suddenly cuts out or a noise wakes you in the middle of the night, illumination is key to securing your home. And because we chose a shotgun as our platform, our light source needed to be weapon-mounted.

>> Reliability: No matter the make or model, the boomstick had to go boom whenever we pressed the trigger. That meant buying nothing that exhibited questionable quality control. Made in China? We think not.

>> Affordability: This was the crux of the whole build. It would have to have all of the above attributes, yet not cost us an arm and a testicle. Our cost estimate: $600, including the cost of the base gun (but not including the transfer fee or any possible shipping fees).